Fishing
by sillybella
Summary: Twilight Challenge Forum August Challenge: Edward and Bella with the Volturi from the POV of any of the Volturi or their guards.


Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

July Challenge

Pick one of the Volturi. Any of them. Aro, Marcus, Caius, Felix, Demetri, Jane, Alec, Heidi -- or even Gianna, since she's associated with them. Tell us, in five-hundred words or more, from that character's POV, what that character thinks of Edward falling in love with a human.

Post the July challenge on August 1, 2007.

_**Fishing**_

by silly bella

This might be the most tedious group of tourists I'd ever brought home for lunch. And that crazy old woman with the rosary. She was driving me nuts. Not that the rosary itself was an issue, not any more than her prayers. Thank goodness no one could understand her. Nothing worse than a bunch of tourists who were overdone. The sudden spike in adrenaline when they figured out their fate tasted delicious. The old hag would ruin it if anyone picked up on what she was saying.

I loved fishing, as Demetri called it. Hooking them with the bait, reeling them in with the trip, and tossing them into the frying pan in the feeding chamber. Nothing more satisfying. And today's group was quite a catch. They smelled…tasty.

Gianna greeted me when I arrived and watched the human herd following me. Stupid cow. She wanted to join us, but most likely, she would end up as food. She'd probably taste flat. I preferred a free-range diet.

"The Cullen boy is back. This time he has another vampire with him. A female. I think it's his sister." Gianna's eyes widened as she told me the news. "And he brought a human. A girl."

A human? Had we persuaded him so quickly to our way of life? Yesterday he'd seemed so intent on dying. He even scoffed when Aro offered him a place among us. Was this some sort of peace offering? A bribe, maybe? It would take more than some human girl to make Aro change his mind. He'd never kill one of the Cullens if he had any other choice. He had such a soft spot for Carlisle, after all. That, and a bit of fear, though for what reason I can't imagine.

Carlisle Cullen was harmless. He'd only tasted human blood when he created his family. He didn't even change all of them. No stomach for violence. Pathetic, really, when you thought about it.

But Edward. He was a different story all-together. He was still a tasty morsel, even if he wasn't really edible. If he'd come back bearing gifts, perhaps I could help him get over that dead human girlfriend of his. I licked my lips at the thought. There was more to life than blood. Edward would be a nice change from Demetri.

I hurried toward the feeding chamber, the tourists behind me like chicks behind a mother hen. Only mother hens didn't lead their chicks to the slaughter.

They babbled ridiculously in the great hall, snapping pictures that no one would ever see. I opened the trompe l'oeil door that led through the small stone chamber that led to the tower where we fed. Caius, ever ingenious, had installed a circular grate in the center of the gently sloping floor. It made it so easy to clean up after eating. Not that I really knew anything about cleaning up after meals other than theory. Caius was the most logical and practical of our leaders.

Marcus had seen better days. He'd been going through the motions for centuries after his mate died. I was certain he sympathized with Edward Cullen, although I'm sure his loss was on a much greater scale. After all, Edward's little human love was just that: human. He'd obviously already known he would lose her some day, yet had refused to change her. But Marcus was sentimental.

Aro was the most flamboyant. Humans fascinated him. He watched them the way some humans watch ant farms or bee colonies. He was so easily entertained. He found perverse joy yesterday in Edward's tale of woe.

I gestured to the tourists, sending them through the little door. It led to only one place. I would follow, making sure none of them tried to turn back. I peered behind them, watching them go oh-so-eagerly to their deaths.

Then I saw them. There, pressed against the wall as the tourists filed into the feeding chamber, stood Edward Cullen with a small female vampire and… was that a human he had pulled to his chest? A human _leaving_ the feeding chamber? Preposterous. It couldn't be. I sniffed the air. A human. One who smelled delicious, in fact. My mouth filled with venom.

As the herd dissipated, he pushed her in my direction. She was crying, sobbing, really. And Edward was wearing one of our cloaks. Did that mean he was joining us? Perhaps he was simply saving this human for himself, a special treat to break his fast, so to speak. It made sense, her crying, if that was the case. But something seemed off. His stance was wrong. He was protecting her. How sweet. Had he found another human to coddle so quickly?

"Welcome home, Heidi." I heard Demetri's voice.

I glanced at him and smiled, nodding as I returned his greeting, my attention returning quickly to Edward and his small entourage. The girl stared at me, tears streaming down her face. Even her tears smelled appetizing. My throat burned. Edward's glare, accompanied by a growl so low I doubted the human could hear it, made it clear that my appetite would only be sated by the tourists. The little female vampire narrowed her eyes at me as she passed.

"Nice fishing," Demetri said appreciatively.

"Thanks," I smiled. Apparently I'd have to settle for Demetri. Edward seemed to have a fetish for playing with food. "Aren't you coming?" I asked, flirting a bit.

"In a minute," he replied impatiently. "Save a few for me."

Thank goodness some men could still tell the difference between dinner and a date. I glanced one last time at the puny cow with Edward. Of course, she was only human. She had to die sometime. Edward and I both had forever. He might come around eventually.


End file.
